


Apple of My Eye

by whiteautumn



Series: The Whole Nine Yards [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Action & Romance, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Drama, M/M, ORAS-rewrite, Ruby and Norman start to talk stuff out, and Ruby and Steven fight a lot, prequel to BoaF, sequel to Breaking The Ice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 12:36:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15841431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteautumn/pseuds/whiteautumn
Summary: Four years after the incident with the weather trio, Hoenn is struck yet again by another upcoming disaster. In the midst of the possible destruction of the Region, Ruby and Steven have their first major conflict that threatens to destroy Ruby's trust in Steven completely.Meanwhile, Norman and Ruby try to mend bridges, and Ruby learns more than he wants to about the incident nine years ago. All thanks to Rayquaza, again.





	Apple of My Eye

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the second tensaishipping prequel to Birds of a Feather!
> 
> This is an ORAS re-write, and a number of events will follow closely to ORAS canon, with a couple of key relationship changes (obviously there will be no Frantic, I was kind of annoyed at the way they handled Sapphire's characterisation anyway) and changes to key details. 
> 
> And yeah, Birds of a Feather sort of spoiled some of them already, but I hope you'll bear with me :)
> 
> I have a rough idea of the length of this. The chapter length will be considerably longer than that of BoaF. 
> 
> Steven and Ruby are already dating in this, with Norman and Mitsuko (that's Caroline's Japanese name, because I realised Ruby's at least half-Japanese with his real name so he has to have one parent with Japanese lineage... oops) giving their support - begrudgingly on Norman's part of course. Therefore whatever activities they participate in will be considered consensual (Ruby's 15 in this, remember that) and not punishable by Japanese law. Just going to put this out there first before I hear people complaining about this. 
> 
> **Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Emerald receive some disturbing news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some parts of this chapter were taken from the PokeSpe ORAS chapter. I've made my own edits, but yeah, just a heads up.y 
> 
> Also, Steven and Ruby get a little frisky in here (boys, please). Nothing too serious beyond kissing, but still. *shrugs*

That morning was a morning like any other. Ruby woke up alone, but that’s not surprising, since that meant that Steven had actually gone to work – a blessing in itself – Ruby’s Pokemon still snoozing by the end of their shared bed in Steven’s place.

What was surprising, however, was the note that had been left behind for him on his nightstand.

 

 _Yuuki-kun,_  

 _Will be back early this evening, I’ve told Emerald to come over for dinner with us at 6._  
_Make sure you’re here as well. There’s something we need to discuss._  
_I’ll grab takeout for all of us.  
Love you._  

_Steven_

 

He frowned at the contents of the note. Steven had been taking his work a lot more seriously recently. They’d been together for about three years on and off (with Steven running away after Ruby’d gained the Championship from him, and Norman’s attempts to keep them physically apart until Ruby grew up) so the teenager could confidently say that he knows the other quite well.

For the past few weeks, Steven had been leaving early in the morning, and coming back late at night. Ruby had thought it was because some geologist had discovered a new type of rock or some other rock-mania related news at first, but the distinct lack of grim on Steven’s suit – still clean, albeit a little ruffled with the long day at work – told him otherwise. The spark that usually adorned Steven’s eyes whenever he talked about rocks and stones was also clearly absent. His boyfriend might be able to hide it behind kind smiles when he and Ruby were alone – which has become increasingly rare as well, Ruby understood since it wasn’t like they didn’t have their own lives – but there was this tightness in his eyes that told the teenager that the other was worried about something.

Very worried about something.

In fact, the last time Ruby had seen that expression, it was during that whole episode with Groudon and Kyogre. A cold feeling sunk in his stomach, flashes from his memories returning – his dad dying, Steven lying there unconscious and very much dead, the sharp coldness of the seawater that cut through his skin like a million small blades and the cave –

 _Now, you’re overthinking things._  He shook himself out of his flashback, frowning lightly. Steven would tell him if something that important was going on, right? Especially if it’s related to the weather-trio. 

He should stop worrying so much – maybe it was just some trouble going on in Devon that Steven and Mr Stone needed help with – and start preparing for the day. His interview and performance with Lisia were coming up soon, and Mimi and the others needed their conditioning.

 

* * *

 

“Good morning, Ruby!”

Contrary to popular belief, Ruby was far from a cheerful person. His childhood experiences with Rayquaza and Salamence as well as his dad and Team Magma had taught him how harsh reality can be. In fact, between him and Steven, Ruby tended to be the voice of criticism and snark while Steven loved to look at the good side of things.  

Well, that’s one thing he loved about the stone-getter, so he had no issues with his boyfriend’s personality at all.

However, having both Wallace and Lisia’s enthusiasm directed at him the moment he stepped into the studio was… disturbing.

“Good… morning, Master, Lisia.” He replied with a twitch of his mouth. Lisia beamed at him while Wallace chuckled at his characteristic reply. Wait, what is Wallace doing here anyway?

“Master, I didn’t know you were coming today?” Wallace was supposed to be busy for his wedding preparations with Winona (it had taken him and Sapphire ages to make the two of them reconcile… It helped that Sapphire had been scaring potential suitors of Winona’s away without her realizing it) since Sapphire had been ranting his ears off about it the last time they’d met. She had been busy, and clearly Winona too – so that meant Wallace shouldn’t have time to dally around Ruby’s rehearsals, no matter how much that meant to Ruby himself.

“I’m here because I’m afraid I can’t make it for your actual on-air performance, I have costume fitting on that day.” Wallace shot him an apologetic smile. Ruby felt a sense of disappointment at that.

It’s too bad he can’t intrude on Wallace’s costume fitting and admire how good his Master looked in everything.

As if reading his mind, Mimi shot him a deadpan look, to which Ruby replied with a stuck-out tongue. He took a deep breath, and clapped his hands twice, raising his voice.

“Okay everyone! Let’s get started!”

He had to end early to return home for dinner, after all.

 

* * *

 

“What Steven is up to nowadays?” Wallace raised an eyebrow at him over his cup of tea, and Ruby nodded, plunging a fork into the last piece of broccoli on his plate. The gym leader looked thoughtful, stirring his cup absentmindedly.

“I don’t actually know… Haven’t exactly had the time to see him in a while. He did tell me he wasn’t going to be able to make it to my fitting though, some kind of best man he is.” Ruby felt the edge of his lips tilt up as Wallace snorted, before a sense of worry filled him again.

So apparently Steven’s been too busy to spend time with Ruby, not stone-getting, ditching his best man duties which were for his best friend’s wedding… He felt his curiosity burning.

“You don’t know either?” The turquoise-haired man looked at him in surprise when Ruby shook his head, fork remaining on his lips as he frowned in thought. Wallace’s expression turned worrying, before sighing and placing his cup down. Standing up, he patted Ruby’s head from across the table – he wished people would stop doing that for goodness’ sake, he’s sixteen, not six! – before smiling in a resigned manner at him.

“I’m sure whatever it is, he’ll tell us eventually.” Gone unsaid between them were the words  _in due time_  – they both knew Steven well enough to know that Ruby’s boyfriend and the current Champion of Hoenn is nothing but self-sacrificial and stubborn.

Ruby could only pray that his boyfriend had learned his lesson from four years ago. Otherwise…

 _No, there will be no “otherwise”s._  A sense of determination welled up in him as he waved goodbye to Wallace. 

“I’ll see you around. Good luck on your performance. Lisia’s an amazing emcee, you’ll be good under her prompting.”

“Thanks. Bye Master! I’ll do my best!” He grinned as he watched Wallace walk away, catching a swift movement at the edge of his vision. Turning sharply, he narrowed his eyes at the bush near the café he and Wallace were having lunch at.

Was that his imagination? Frowning, he took one last bite of his lunch before standing up, scanning his surroundings to see if he could identify who it was – if there was indeed someone, that is.

Seeing nothing, he shrugged and sighed. His brain’s probably playing tricks on him again – being reminded of that incident has set him on edge, after all.

Now, however, he has a rehearsal to return to.

 

* * *

 

“I’m home!” He announced his return in a tired voice, Mimi and Zuzu following behind him – the rest had been returned to their Pokeballs – as he entered the house at five thirty in the evening.

What he didn’t expect was hearing Steven’s voice reply him from his study.

“Welcome back, Yuuki-kun.”

The silver haired male was seated at his desk, his suit jacket draped on the back of his chair, his key stone shining brightly from the folds of the fabric under the rays of the setting sun. Upon Ruby’s entry into the study, he turned around and gestured for Ruby, who went forward promptly.

“Hey.” He smiled, wrapping his arms around Steven’s shoulders and feeling the other’s arms around his waist.

“Hey yourself.” Steven chuckled, pressing a light kiss to his forehead. He giggled at the ticklish sensation. 

“You’re back really early.” While Steven did say he was going to be returning early, Ruby didn’t think it’d be this early. Having Steven around to greet him once in a while gave him a fuzzy feeling.

“I only got back a while ago.” Steven pulled back, giving Ruby a smile and the opportunity to admire the other in his vest – one of Ruby’s finest designs, although he didn’t think Steven would take so nicely to the fact that Ruby insisted on giving his suit design a makeover – which highlighted the other’s built nicely.

Although Ruby’s always known he’s a genius, he can’t help but to praise himself mentally again because boy does Steven look good. (Not that he didn’t before, but still.)

“Oh? And you had time to grab dinner too?” Or maybe Steven just had his secretary order it for him…. God knows the Corporate heir lived off take out and ordered food before Ruby started living with him.

“I got it ordered to the office.” Bulls-eye. Too easy. “It’s from your favourite restaurant.”

“Trying to butter me up, aren’t you?” He’d meant it as a teasing joke, but their close proximity meant that he could feel Steven’s arms tightening for that split second. 

Okay. So maybe Steven is trying to get into his good favour. Now, if only Ruby could do something about that uncertain sinking feeling in his stomach at this whole situation, it’d be perfect. 

“I’m always trying to get into your good graces, Yuuki-kun.” Steven replied with a smile, but the younger could see the hint of grimace hidden behind his soft expression. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed and wanting to do something to alleviate Steven’s sadness, he reached up and pressed their lips together, his eyelids fluttering close. 

“Yuuki,” His name came out as a hushed whisper as Ruby flicked his tongue out tentatively, exploring the other’s mouth shyly. He vaguely remembering Steven calling him a kitten – with Ruby denying it vehemently, of course – for doing that. Shivering when he heard Steven chuckle in response, the black-haired boy had only a split second to think  _oh, shit_  before he felt his boyfriend tangle their tongues together and start sucking softly.

Gasping and trying to suppress his moan, Ruby let out a whimper as he felt Steven lift him up swiftly to seat him on top of his desk, pushing open his legs so that he could press them closer together. He reached up to grasp tightly at Steven’s vest at the sudden movement.

There were tears gathering in his eyes as Steven continued the kiss, one hand reaching to support the small of Ruby’s back and the other trailing up his thigh, his fingertips leaving ghost-like touches.

His vision of Steven was blurry, a painting of metallic silver with lustrous blue, as the other pulled away, a thick strand of saliva connecting them. Ruby felt a wave of loss and embarrassment well up as he watched Steven wipe it away, the absence of his hand on Ruby’s thigh making him miss the contact.

The other took one look and smirked at him, leaning forward to nip lightly at his nape.

“Don’t pout. We can’t continue now. Emerald will be here in a bit.” 

He scowled, fully aware that it looked like an even larger pout to Steven, before sighing and running his hand down his boyfriend’s vest, trying to smooth out the creases.

“Meta! Meta!” Steven stilled at the sound of his Metagross – which, because Ruby knew it so well, sounded utterly scandalized – having forgotten it had been taking a nap in the corner (it’s been doing that a lot lately, Ruby wondered if he should make more PokeBlocks for it). Ruby groaned and buried his face in Steven’s shoulders, he’d failed to see the Pokemon in the room as well. He was sure Mimi and Zuzu had remained in the living room because they were the usual victims, they’d learned things the hard way from accidentally seeing them in Ruby’s dressing room. 

“Metagross… please.” Steven bit out weakly, chuckling and patting Ruby on his head.  

The Steel-type merely grunted.

 

* * *

 

Dinner was a quiet and friendly affair – Ruby and Emerald haven’t met in a long time, and Steven and Emerald even longer so (probably since they had gone through that whole ordeal at the Battle Tower). It was obvious from Emerald’s wider-than-normal eyes that he hadn’t been expecting an invite from  _Steven Stone_ , of all people. 

To be honest, Ruby didn’t know why Steven decided to invite Emerald either. Perhaps it was just him being slightly annoyed that he wasn’t the first to know about what was going on despite seeing Steven almost every day.

Ruby sat through dinner, trying to ignore the feeling of dread settling in his stomach. The food had helped – Steven hadn’t been lying when he said he’d gotten Ruby’s favourite, from the starters to the desserts, he was trying to make sure Ruby didn’t get too mad at whatever he’s about to discuss after dinner, it seems – but once the plates had been cleared and they sat in Steven’s study, he and Emerald facing Steven, the feeling had returned.

Steven was tapping his fingers on his desk, the bright light of the room reflecting off the rings that adorned them. Emerald was playing with the helm of his shirt underneath the table. Ruby frowned, staying silent – Steven was thinking about how to breach the topic, while Emerald looked like he might just bolt if startled.

Too bad for his boyfriend, Ruby was not in a very forgiving mood tonight.

“You said you had something to tell us?” Steven’s eyes moved to focus on him, and he could read his boyfriend’s annoyance at being hurried.

Oops.  _Not._

“…About a few weeks ago, Devon received news from the Mossdeep Space Centre that their group of researchers have identified the presence of a giant meteorite that is headed towards Earth, specifically the Hoenn Region, approximately twelve days from now.” Emerald let out a gasp of surprise beside him, and Ruby felt his eyebrows raising.

“Should the meteorite collide with us, there is a very high chance that the whole Region would be wiped out.” Steven paused, giving the chance for Emerald to start shouting.

“A giant meteorite is going to crash into the planet, and everything will be destroyed?” Ruby clenched his fists beside Emerald, whose mouth remained wide open after his exclamation. 

“I know this is very sudden to take in, but it’s true. We still don’t know very much about the matter, but we’re doing all we can to investigate.”

This explains why Steven has been disappearing for whole days on end recently, Ruby frowned, narrowing his eyes from behind the frames of his spectacles. 

“Devon has already started to take all available countermeasures to prevent this disaster.” He took in a sharp draw of breath at that – remembering just how Devon had handled the  _last_  disaster.

No offence to his boyfriend and his father, but they are absolutely bull at coming up with good solutions to prevent apocalyptic disasters descending Hoenn. Not to mention, they were good at creating them too.

“… Unfortunately, there are people out there who don’t believe in our ability due to our lack of information, so they’ve made threats against the company to stop those countermeasures.” Now this was curious – as far as Ruby knew, Devon had kept the whole incident hushed up pretty nicely so as to not cause a ruckus in the Region (considering Sapphire’s not screaming his head off about how they’d have to do something, he’d assume so), whoever’s making those threats must either be one of those kept in the loop, or they have other ways to gain information. 

To go against Devon, however, you must either possess utmost confidence that they won’t find you, that, or you were confident that you could deal with whatever consequences that accompanied threatening the biggest and most influential company in the Region. 

The latter then? 

“If things end up escalating from there, we may have to fight against these people.” Well, there’s Steven’s favour. 

“… So where do we come in?” Steven paused, before continuing in a decisive tone.

“In order to prevent the meteorite from colliding with the planet, as well as preparing to fight these enemies. I want you to lend me your strength. If you agree to cooperate, I expect to see you get stronger. I’ve prepared something for that, so please accept them.” With that, Steven reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a box and opened it. Ruby tensed and Emerald let out a noise in amazement and confusion.

Laying in the velvet box were three silver bangles, each embedded with a key stone. One for Emerald, he and Sapphire, he assumed.

 _Does that mean if this incident wasn’t imminent, you wouldn’t offer us that chance?_  He thought drily, reaching out to grab a bangle, snapping it onto his wrist.

“Nice!” Emerald stared at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“What? You’re just going to take it? You actually believe that our planet’s going to be destroyed? And this whole thing!” Right, he forgot about Emerald’s brattish trust issues. The younger boy deflated when Ruby raised an eyebrow at him, understanding that there was no reason for Ruby of all people to doubt Steven – Ruby would agree to disagree on that point, considering their pasts, but that’s a different story entirely and something Emerald should not be privy to – and that Steven wouldn’t harm Ruby.

Well, not on purpose, anyway. 

“Besides, isn’t the stone in the middle beautiful? It looks so mysterious.” He teased, watching Emerald open his mouth and gape and him, ignoring Steven’s raised eyebrow. His boyfriend knows that he knew what a key stone is, even if Emerald – and by extension, Sapphire – didn’t, yet. 

Speaking of Sapphire…

“I have some conditions, Steven.” The aforementioned eyebrow went higher. Seems like his dearest expected him to obey unconditionally – wonder what that said about Steven’s view of him.

“You chose us because we’re the PokeDex holders of Hoenn, yes?” Steven nodded, “Therefore, I assume you’re going to tell Sapphire all that you’ve told us as well?” Not that Steven’s actually told them much – his boyfriend was lying, Ruby could feel it in his bones – most of the information he’s given them is a huge smokescreen anyway. Vague words that seem important.

“…Yes,” The oldest of the trio confirmed, “I thought you might have something to say about that, however.” Damn right he did. That’s probably the third most important thing that Steven had gotten right today (getting food from Ruby’s favourite place and bringing them into the loop – with questionable goals – were the other two). He knew how much Sapphire meant to Ruby and wanted Ruby’s views on how much he should reveal to the hyperactive girl. 

“I want you to keep the fact that our planet might be destroyed from her.” Ignoring Emerald’s loud “WHAT?”, he stared straight at Steven, who frowned for the first time this evening. Evidently, he hadn’t been expecting this.

Steven’s lucky that he didn’t request for Sapphire to be excluded from this whole matter entirely – it wasn’t that Sapphire’s weak or anything (on the contrary, her strength is enough to freak Ruby out on most days), Ruby just didn’t think she should be included in such a messy matter when she’s busy with data collection and research. His best friend’s the type that would freak out endlessly over the possibility that Hoenn might be in danger – he clearly recalled Sapphire’s screams and slaps from the whole Magma-Aqua ordeal – and Ruby wanted to keep her from worrying so much. 

If he didn’t include her though, he’d probably get a good beating from her when everything’s over. This is a good compromise.

Ruby sat back into his seat, never breaking eye contact with Steven, who seemed to be in deep thought about something. A moment of silence descended the three of them, the air much thicker than before they’d begin this conversation. Beside him, Emerald was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, again.

“… Very well.” Steven conceded, “I will keep that part a secret from Sapphire.” His eyes, however, spoke to Ruby louder than his words ever could.  _It wouldn’t be my fault if she comes demanding why she had been excluded._

Ruby rolled his eyes.  _I know, I’ll take responsibility._  

His shorter companion deflated beside him, groaning about disasters and how they’re too young to be doing this. A part of Ruby agreed, but a larger part of him felt like he had to do it – not for Hoenn, but for the idiot sitting in front of him who would go to great distances for this Region.

Steven – and his father – has the tendency to narrow his focus a little too much, leading to solutions that, more often than not, create unnecessary collateral damages. Ruby’s not being proud or cocky when he said there’s a high possibility that he would have to clean up some messes again.

Especially when Steven kept secrets from him like this. 

“… Fine, I’ll do this as well, since Saph would definitely agree.” Emerald sighed, grabbed the bangle and snapped it onto his wrist. Steven nodded.

“Thank you.”

 _Oh, don’t thank me just yet, Steven._  Ruby thought,  _I’ll pry the truth out of you eventually._

“We’ll meet in two days in Dewford, I’ve invited someone important to train the three of you.” Ruby blinked. Two?

“Wait! I have an interview and performance with Lisia on that day!” He glared at Steven, ignoring Emerald’s comment of  _The world’s going to end and you’re thinking about that?!,_  his boyfriend knew how much work he’d put in preparing for the performance. There was no way he was giving this up.

“I know,” The silver-haired male smiled, “You can join us after you’ve finished your interview. Wallace told me it ends at noon, yes? We’ll be there the whole day.”

“You’re actually letting him go for that ridiculous thing? OUCH!” Ruby jabbed Emerald in the side, hard, before grabbing the other boy’s sleeves and pulling him out of the room amidst Steven’s awkward smile.

“I’ll walk Emerald out!”

“See you then, Mr Steven!” Ruby saw Emerald’s wave and heard Steven’s affirmative.

He had to talk to Emerald.

 

* * *

 

“He’s not telling us everything.”

He and Emerald were walking along the beach in Mossdeep – well, Ruby was dragging Emerald, who looked like he wanted to go home (Ruby had to give it to him for not breaking down upon Steven’s revelation though). His unwilling companion stopped struggling and looked up at Ruby.

“What do you mean?”

“Steven’s words were informative, but there weren’t many details given.” The younger boy merely looked confused. 

“But Mr Steven mentioned that they didn’t know much either about the situation?”

“That’s true, but he didn’t elaborate on what countermeasures Devon was taking. Don’t you find it odd that they want our help but won’t tell us anything?” Emerald looked deep in thought at Ruby’s prompting.

“Perhaps he’ll tell us two days later before we start our training?” That was also a possibility, but Ruby got a distinct gut feeling that Steven didn’t want them to know what Devon was doing. Call him paranoid because of his past experiences, but his instincts were never wrong – Norman had always said he had a sharp sense, and Ruby was inclined to agree, they had brought him thus far, after all.

He made a nonchalant noise in reply, finding a nice spot on the beach and flopping down onto the sand, raising his arms to rest his head on them. Beside him, Emerald did the same. 

The stars were especially pretty tonight – in fact, they had been especially bright and copious for the four weeks, which, now that he thought about it, coincided with finding of the giant meteorite.

He wondered what kind of emotions the people who knew about the disaster were feeling right now. In fact, up until four days ago, he was still asking Steven if they could go see the meteor shower the following week. Steven’s reply had been a frown, then a sad smile, before leaning forward and kissing Ruby lightly, saying  _“Yes, Yuuki-kun, of course we'll go.”_

Liar. Steven had known all these while that the meteor shower wasn’t a sign of anything good. In fact, it was a sign of disaster.

“Man,” Emerald’s sudden comment snapped him out of his reverie, “I don’t know how to feel about the world ending. I just keep on thinking about Crystal and the Professor’s faces, you know.”

Ruby did, amidst all of his anger and annoyance towards Steven for hiding something this important from him (and presumably Master Wallace as well), he was worried for him, his parents, Sapphire, Professor Birch, Wally and everyone else. He couldn’t exactly tell anyone – people who didn’t know were out of the question, and something screamed at him not to trust Steven right now – so who could he turn to for advice?

If it were four years ago, he would have had Courtney as a sounding board. Now? While he knew where Courtney was (or had a rough idea where she could be), he couldn’t seek her out or meet her. If the Association found out about it, that’s literally the end for him.

Not that the loss of his Trainer’s qualifications would itch him at all, but everyone around him would be devastated. Plus, it also means that all of his dad’s, Wallace’s and Steven’s efforts to clear his past records would go down the drain. 

There must be a way for him to reach Courtney….

“…Ruby? Are you listening?” He blinked and jerked back when he realized the night sky that he’d been staring at had been replaced with Emerald’s face.

“Huh? Oi! Don’t scare me! Sheesh! I don’t look good surprised!” Ruby batted his eyelashes to cover up how shaken he felt, “I know I’m handsome, but there’s no need to examine me this closely!” The young blond shot him an irritated look, before sighing and patting the rest of sand off his clothes.

“Glad to see you’re back to your utter annoying self.” He commented with a roll of his eyes. “I’m going home, it’s been a long day, y’know. You should return to Mr Steven’s place soon before he starts to worry.”

“Sure, yeah." Ruby paused, "Remember not to trust Steven fully." He ignored the young teen's incredulous look -  _He's your boyfriend and you're telling me not to trust him?_  - "See you in two!” Emerald shrugged, but nodded. Ruby replied with a nod of his own, satisfied that he'd gotten the point across. As Emerald's back started to retreat into the dark, Ruby turned around to look at the night sky, a thoughtful frown on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding Ruby and Courtney: I've always thought they'd make great friends in the PokeSpe RS chapter. It's too bad the writers wrote her out. If you want to know the relationship between Ruby and Courtney, do read the prequel to this, Breaking The Ice. 
> 
> Feed me Kudos/Comments please :P.


End file.
